Leviticus

Contains rules and instructions for rituals, offerings, and how to live a holy life.

Chapter 21

1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

*And God told Moses, "Tell the priest descendants of Aaron, 'No one should become unclean because of a deceased person among their people.'"

2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,

*But for his close family - his mom, dad, child, girl, boy, and sibling.

3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

*And for his sister, a young unmarried woman living close to him, who has never been married; he can have sexual relations with her.

4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

*But he mustn't become unclean, as he is an important leader among his people, so he shouldn't do anything shameful.

5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

*They won't remove hair from their heads or trim the corners of their beards. They also won't cut their skin.

6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.

*They must be sacred to their God and not desecrate God's name. They offer fire sacrifices and God's special bread. Because of this, they must be holy.

7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.

*They should not marry a prostitute or someone unholy; nor should they take a woman who left her husband. They are dedicated to their God.

8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.

*You must set him apart because he offers the bread of your God. He will be sacred to you because I, the Lord, who makes you holy, am holy.

9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

*If a priest's daughter acts improperly like a prostitute, she disgraces her father. She must be punished by fire.

10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

*The main priest among his family members, who has oil poured on his head and is dedicated for wearing special clothes, should not take off his head covering or tear his clothes.

11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

*He won't enter a dead body or become unclean for his dad or mom.

12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.

*He can't leave the holy place and disrespect it, because special oil has been put on him - I am the Lord.

13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

*He will marry a girl who is still a virgin.

14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.

*A woman who is widowed, divorced, impure, or a prostitute should not be married to him. Instead, he should marry a never-married girl from his own community.

15 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.

*He won't make his family unholy among the people, because the Lord is the one who makes them holy.

16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

*And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

*Tell Aaron, "Any of your descendants with a flaw should not come close to offer their God's food."

18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,

*Any man with a flaw cannot come near: a blind person, someone limping, a person with a flat nose, or anything extra.

19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,

*Or someone with a broken foot, or a broken hand,

20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;

*Or someone with a curved back, or a short person, or one with an eye problem, or suffering from a sickness causing red spots, or with skin sores, or has broken testicles.

21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

*Any man with a flaw from the family of Aaron, the priest, cannot approach to offer sacrifices to God using fire. He has a flaw and is not allowed to present bread to God.

22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.

*He will eat special food from God, including very sacred food and regular sacred food.

23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

*Only that person cannot enter the veil or approach the altar due to a flaw, so as not to desecrate my holy places. For I am the Lord who makes them sacred.

24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

*Moses shared this with Aaron, his sons, and all the people of Israel.

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